Pay It Forward
I am not sure there has ever been an idea better than pay it forward. It is thought that the term was originally coined by Lily Hardy Hammond in her book In The Garden of Delight back in 1916. The whole idea is when someone does a good deed for you, you should then do a good deed for someone else. Pretty straight forward, pretty simple. A kindness has been done for you. You do a kindness for someone else in the future.
In 1999 Catherine Ryan Hyde wrote an uplifting novel under the name Pay It Forward. In it a twelve-year-old boy in a small California town who accepts his teacher’s challenge to earn extra credit by coming up with a plan to change the world. It was later turned into a movie starring Haley Joel Osment, Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey.
The idea in the book and the movie was that the recipient of the favor or good deed has to then do a good deed for 3 other people. I really like this version, because it has the best opportunity for it to be carried forward with 3 people being added.
Often when people want to do a good deed and they don’t know where to start. We put our heads together at Kind Nice Happy and we came up with a not so official list of ideas. Please feel free to send us your ideas. We would love to hear them.
- Do something nice for a homeless person. Food, warm clothes, blankets, a wash cloth and soap, a toothbrush and toothpaste. There are quite a few thing you can do to help a homeless person.
- Run for a cause. You help the cause and you get some cardio in. Win win!
- Compliment a stranger. Who doesn’t like to hear a compliment and it doesn’t cost you a thing.
4. Let someone go in front of you at the supermarket.
5. Babysit for a busy parent. A break is greatly appreciated.
6. Mow your elderly neighbors lawn.
7. Go to a nursing home and ask who hasn’t had a visitor in a while. Go sit with that person for a few hours and talk to them.
8. Put coupons you don’t use on a community board.
9. Leave your change where some kids will find it. Remember finding money when you were little and how excited you were.
10. On your birthday ask your friends and family who would get you a present to donate to a charity instead.
11. Volunteer at a community garden.
12. Donate food to a food bank.
13. Take the extra time to compliment someone who gave you good service. Tell their boss.
14. Bring flowers to a senior citizen at a retirement home who doesn’t get any visitors.
15. Help someone without asking.
16. Plant a tree. In fact plant a lot of them. Future generations will thank you.
17. Clean up trash in a public place or at a beach.
18. Give your seat to an elderly person. On a bus, a train or waiting in line. It is just the right thing to do.
19. Write a thank you note for someone who has done something kind.
20. Volunteer to read stories to children at your library.
21. Go out of your way to help a foreigner visiting your country. It spreads good will across the world.
22. Go through your clothes and donate anything you don’t wear.
23. Give a co-worker a compliment on how hard they work.
24. Tell a single parent what a good job they are doing and then give them a night out.
25. Invite that guy or girl that always sits alone at work to join you for lunch. You might just make a new friend.
26. Volunteer to coach a kids team.
27. Teach someone how to play an instrument. Music is so beautiful and can give so much to someone.
28. Pay the toll for the person behind you.
29. Leave a good book behind in an airport. Add a note that says “I enjoyed this book and I hope you do too. Please pay this gesture forward.”
30. Donate Blood.
31. Buy lemonade from a kids lemonade stand.
32. Be a good listener.
33. Volunteer at a children’s hospital.
34. Volunteer at an animal shelter.
35. Offer to take a photo for a family or a couple. That way everyone can be in the picture.
36. Put coupons on a community bulletin board.
37. Offer a ride to someone who doesn’t have a car.
38. Organize a toy drive and give them to a local organization.
39. Offer tutoring for free.
40. Be extra nice to the people at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles, the phone company, or the cable company. They only speak to people who are angry or upset.
41. Help someone pursue their dream.
42. Encourage a local musician.
43. Give your change to a street musician.
44. Write a positive review of a local business you enjoy.
45. Give away your old books to children.
46. Make a donation to your local food bank.
47. Walk or take your bike instead of driving to make the air a little cleaner.
48. Wash someone else’s car.
49. Send a letter to someone letting them know how much they mean to you.
50. Forgive someone even when you don’t want to.
If you do any of these things or any of your own ideas then you are just awesome! We thank you for making the world a better place. If the recipient of any good deed you do says thank you, a great response is no thank you is necessary, just pay it forward.
